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Aeromedical (UCAN)

Chicago’s First Hospital-Based Air Ambulance!

Welcome to the University of Chicago Aeromedical Network, known as UCAN. UCAN is the air medical service of the University of Chicago Medicine. UCAN provides one of the most unique training opportunities for our residents. We operate a Nurse/Resident crew model – which means our Emergency Medicine Residents are primary providers on the helicopter. You’re not just an observer but the physician on board – expected to make decisions and manage some of the sickest and most complex medical and trauma patients you will ever see.

Who We Fly and How We Operate

As a flight physician with UCAN, you will fly one of the fastest, largest and safest aeromedical helicopters in the world. We a fly a Eurocopter (Aerospeciale) Dauphin 365 N1 a twin engine helicopter with a cruising speed up to 180 miles/hr. Our range is approximately 200 nautical miles. This speed and range allows us to serve a far outlying community. A great proportion of our flights are interfacility transports where we fly critically ill or injured neonatal, pediatric and adult patients. However, some of the most exciting flights you will have are directly to the accident scene where UCAN will land directly on the highway or field and provide the primary life saving resuscitation.

The University of Chicago being a large tertiary care center means we are also entrusted in flying some of the most dynamic and ill critical care patients. Our helicopter is configured to fly aortic balloon pumps, impellas, nitric oxide, left ventricular assist devices, ECHMO and transvenous pacemakers to name a few. Our volume of pediatric and neonatal transfers gives the residents a unique exposure to procedures and resuscitation of premature infants, and pediatric traumas who we return to our Level 1 trauma center at Comer Children’s Hospital.

Residency Training

Starting your second year you will get your flight suit and become a flight physician. However, your training starts first year as you do ride along shifts with the crew. We also augment the residency curriculum with aeromedical specific training. We have monthly peer review lectures, courses on advanced airway management, and lectures on flight physiology and resuscitation science. In addition, you need to be competent in emergency procedures, advanced adult and pediatric airways and the resuscitation of adult and pediatric patients. As you will hear more on your visit to our program we also have a unique teaching model in our EDs. The interns are the procedure doctors and get first crack at airways, lines and tubes. You will also be given the sickest patients in the ED to care for – all to prepare you for your flight experience.

Whenever & Wherever Needed!

How to schedule our service?

Please call our Communication Center at 773-702-3222. We have trained aeromedical communication specialists 24 hours a day. The UCAN team can be summoned by physicians and hospital staff or by authorized industrial and public safety personnel such as police officers, fire fighters, paramedics and other emergency medical personnel.